The present invention relates to ink sheets, image receiving sheets, an image forming apparatus, an image forming process, and an integrated control system of an image forming system and an image forming apparatus.
Recently, along with the spread of image forming techniques of digitized images, the need for direct digitized color proof (also denoted as DDCP) production have increased specifically in the field of printing. In the process of printing, it is generally necessary to prepare a hard copy prior to proceeding the final printing step and a method of using an image forming apparatus for preparing to a hard copy is needed to check finished prints.
JP-A 5-221067 (hereinafter, the term, JP-A means an unexamined and published Japanese Patent Application) discloses an apparatus for performing constant, rapid and accurate image forming by using a thermal transfer process that constantly produces high quality, definite proof images. This thermal image forming apparatus is provided with a roller medium-supplying apparatus and has a support on which an ink sheet is overlapped onto an image receiving sheet, wherein even when plural ink sheets are overlapped on an image receiving sheet, the ink sheets can be removed without disordering the image receiving sheet, a part of the image receiving sheet is held and the position of superimposed plural images is confirmed while writing, multi-colored images are formed on the image receiving sheet and then the images are transferred all at once onto a print paper to prepare a final proof.
An ink sheet and an image receiving sheet used in such an image forming apparatus are desired to be uniform in quality in terms of sheet layer thickness, density and sensitivity, in cases when both are the same kinds of products. However, the quality, depending of the manufacturing conditions, varies more or less and are not always uniform. Exposure of such an ink sheet and image receiving sheet having fluctuation in quality to light by using an exposure apparatus under given constant conditions, leads to formation of images having fluctuations in quality, in response to variation in quality of image forming materials. Such fluctuation in image quality is not acceptable when the resulting images are used as proofs. The present invention was made to solve such problems, and provides an image forming apparatus and an image forming process, which enable final images having a stabilized constant quality to be produced even when using ink sheets or image receiving sheets having some fluctuations.
In general, a sheet describing product information including a product name and color is usually attached to an outer carton of ink sheets or image receiving sheets. When loading image forming materials such as the ink sheet and image receiving sheet into an image forming apparatus, information regarding the size, kind, color and so on, is recognized by a person, often producing problems such as operation failure or plenty of time and labor being needed.
The image forming materials further contain a number of information items to be controlled in addition to the information regarding the product name and color, so that it has been unfeasible to allow such information to correspond to various types of products.
Image forming apparatuses have been individually employed by each user and plural apparatuses have never been subjected to concentrated control, while being connected with each other. Further, the state of using image forming materials at the user side could not be collectively controlled. Accordingly, there were produced problems such that a response to troubles which occurred at the time of image formation was delayed and scheduled production was not feasible, thereby lowering the production efficiency.
According to the present invention, there has been provided ink sheets, image receiving sheets, an image forming apparatus and an image forming system, in which product information can be recognized in a accurate and simple manner, thereby reducing labor costs; and an integrated control system, in which information regarding various kinds of products can be collectively controlled, enhancing production efficiency of image forming materials and enabling instantaneous response to troubles which occur at the time of image formation. Further, according to the invention, there has been provided an image forming process, an image forming system and an integrated control system of image forming apparatuses, whereby image exhibiting reduced variation in dot gain and superior resolution can be stably obtained in a simple manner independent of a finally image-received material.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide ink sheets, image receiving sheets, an image forming apparatus and an image forming system, in which product information can be recognized in an accurate and simple manner, thereby reducing labor cost.
Further, an object of the invention is to provide an image forming process, an image forming system and an integrated control system of image forming apparatuses, whereby image exhibiting reduced variation in dot gain and superior resolution can be stably obtained in a simple manner independent of a final image receiving material.
Furthermore, an object of the invention is to provide an integrated control system, in which information regarding various kinds of products can be collectively controlled, enhancing production efficiency of image forming materials and enabling instantaneous response to troubles which occur at the time of image formation.
The objects of the present invention can be accomplished by the following constitution:
(1) An image forming apparatus, in which an ink sheet is superimposed onto an image receiving sheet and subjected to imagewise exposure to light to allow an image in the ink sheet to transfer to the image receiving sheet to form an image, comprising:
a drum around which the ink sheet and/or image receiving sheet are wound,
an exposure device for exposing the ink sheet and/or image receiving sheet wound around the drum, while rotating the drum,
a detecting device for detecting quality information of the ink sheet and/or image receiving sheet,
a memory device for memorizing an exposure condition corresponding the quality information of the ink sheet and/or image receiving sheet, and
a control device for controlling the exposure device and/or the drum so that the exposure is performed according to the exposure condition corresponding to the quality information of the ink sheet and image receiving sheet which has been detected by the detecting device and memorized by the memory device;
(2) The image forming apparatus described in (1), wherein an image in a first ink sheet is transferred to the image receiving sheet and then an image in a second ink sheet having a color different from the first ink sheet is transferred to the image receiving sheet;
(3) The image forming apparatus described in (1), wherein the exposure condition is a circumferential speed of the rotating drum;
(4) The image forming apparatus described in (1), wherein the exposure condition is an emission intensity of a light source built in the exposure device;
(5) The image forming apparatus described in (1), wherein the exposure device has a laser light source to perform laser exposure;
(6) The image forming apparatus described in (1), wherein the quality information is at least one of sensitivity, density and layer thickness of the ink sheet and/or the image receiving sheet;
(7) The image forming apparatus described in (1), wherein the detecting device has a bar-code reader;
(8) The image forming apparatus described in (1), wherein the detecting device has a magnetic head;
(9) The image forming apparatus described in (1), wherein the memory device and the exposure device are both built in an integrated apparatus;
(10) The image forming apparatus described in (1), wherein a part including the memory device and a part including the drum, the exposure device, the control device and the detecting device are separated; the part including the exposure device comprising a quality information sending means for sending the quality information detected by the detecting device and an exposure condition receiving means for receiving the exposure condition sent by an exposure condition sending means; and the part including the exposure device further comprising a quality information receiving means for receiving the quality information sent by the quality information sending means and an exposure condition sending means for sending the exposure condition memorized by the memory device and corresponding to the quality information;
(11) an image forming process in which an ink sheet is superimposed onto an image receiving sheet, they are wound around a drum and imagewise exposed with rotating the drum to allow an image in the ink sheet to transfer to the image receiving sheet to form an image therein, the process comprising the steps of:
detecting quality information of the ink sheet and/or image receiving sheet,
determining an exposure condition corresponding the detected quality information, and
performing exposure, based on the determined exposure condition;
(12) The image forming process described in (11), wherein an image in a first ink sheet is transferred to the image receiving sheet and then an image in a second ink sheet having a color different from the first ink sheet is transferred to the image receiving sheet;
(13) The image forming process described in (11), wherein the exposure condition is a circumferential speed of the rotating drum;
(14) The image forming process described in (11), wherein the exposure condition is an emission intensity of a light source used in exposure;
(15) The image forming process described in (11), wherein exposure is performed with laser;
(16) The image forming process described in (11), wherein the quality information is at least one of sensitivity, density and layer thickness of the ink sheet and/or the image receiving sheet;
(17) An ink sheet containing quality information in advance as an image forming material;
(18) The ink sheet described in (12), wherein the quality information is at least one selected from sensitivity and density;
(19) An image receiving sheet containing quality information in advance as an image forming material;
(20) The image receiving sheet described in (14), wherein the quality information is at least one selected from sensitivity and density;
(21) An image forming apparatus having a mechanism of automatically detecting quality information which has been provided to an image forming material;
(22) A process of forming an image by using an image forming material containing quality information and an image forming apparatus, wherein the image forming apparatus detects the quality information contained in the image forming material and the detected quality information is employed for image recording control;
(23) An image forming system comprising means for automatically detecting quality information which has been provided to an image forming material, means for thereby controlling an image forming condition and means for recording an image;
(24) The image forming system described in (23), wherein the image forming condition is an exposure condition;
(25) An integrated control system for integrally controlling plural image forming apparatuses, wherein an image forming condition corresponding to quality information of an image forming material is allowed to be memorized by a controller in advance, the quality information of the image forming material which is automatically detected by an image forming apparatus is sent, as data signals, to the controller, the data signals corresponding to the image forming condition corresponding to the quality information is sent to the image forming apparatus to control the image forming apparatus so that the image forming apparatus performs image recording according to the sent image forming condition;
(26) The integrated control system described in (25), wherein a message corresponding to error information at the time of image formation is allowed to be memorized by a controller in advance, the error information detected by an image forming apparatus is sent, as data signals, to the controller and the message is exhibited on a monitor;
(27) The integrated control system described in (25), wherein the image forming condition is an exposure condition; and
(28) The integrated control system described in (26), wherein the quality is at least one selected from sensitivity and density, and the image forming condition is an exposure condition.